When Is the Ideal Time for Sauna Maintenance

Maintaining your sauna isn’t that hard. In fact, it’s a lot easier than owning and maintaining a pool. The maintenance procedure you should follow will depend on the type of sauna you have. For example, if you own a traditional steam sauna, the steps will somehow vary compared to maintaining an infrared sauna.

That said, when is the right time for a sauna maintenance, and what are the steps you have to follow to ensure that your home sauna is properly taken care of?

Maintaining Your Outdoor Sauna

An outdoor sauna typically uses lumber on its construction. However, since it is exposed to exterior elements such as rain, sunlight, snow, and wind all of the time, the wood used to build it will deteriorate over time. If you’re fine with that, you can just leave it as is. However, if you want to preserve your outdoor sauna, here are two things you can do:

Use a low-pressure wash to clean it periodically. This will help you get rid of dust, mildew, debris, and any other foreign materials on the sauna.

Apply a stain containing a UV inhibitor into the exteriors of your sauna in order to resist sunlight to a certain extent.

If you decide to go with the second method, here are some tips you have to consider:

Don’t apply any paint or varnish on the exterior

Don’t apply the stain on the interior of your sauna

There are plenty of stains out there. You can visit your local paint store for any recommendation.

If you live in a sunny climate, you want to reapply the stain more frequently. Meanwhile, if you live in a cloudy region, you can apply the stain less often. To determine when is the right time for an application, try checking the degree of fading on your sauna every few months, especially during the first few months after buying it. This will help you respond accordingly.

Additionally, if you live in a snowy region, it’s ideal to check your sauna once every few months for a possibility of water seepage. In case a huge amount of water seepage is present, you’ll have to add more staves under the bands. If both the interior and exterior of the sauna room are dry, it’s ideal to remove the top portion then reconstruct by adding more staves.

Maintaining Your Indoor Sauna

Treating the exterior of an indoor sauna isn’t really necessary. However, if you really want to do it, then you can use a suitable stain from a local paint store. Just make sure to follow the instructions thoroughly during application. Then again, DON’T treat the interior and DON’T apply any paint or varnish on the exterior.

Although an indoor sauna doesn’t need any protection from exterior elements, a basic routine maintenance is still necessary. You want to start by vacuuming your sauna regularly to remove any dirt or dust. If you want to perform a deeper clean, there are a number of effective solutions out there. Some of them are as follows:

Use a fine grit sandpaper to remove any tough stains or scuffs

Use a solution made by combining water and baking soda. Afterward, use a scrub dipped in the solution to clean the wood

There’s no need to do the deep cleaning regularly. You can do it whenever necessary or when you notice the buildup of too much dirt or dust outside and inside your sauna.

General Maintenance Tips

If you live in an area where you normally experience changing seasons, your sauna stones will more likely crack and split. If that happens, you can simply purchase replacement stones. However, you should only buy sauna stones which are specifically designed for use inside your sauna heater.

If some parts of your sauna are broken or defective, or you just want to do some DIY custom job, you can also purchase replacement parts such as doors, staves, and other components.

You can also add some accessories that will not only help you maintain the appearance of your sauna but enhance its overall aesthetics as well. These accessories could include back rests, leg rests, robe hooks, and more.

Conclusion

The ideal time for a sauna maintenance will depend on a number of factors. However, you have to make sure that you vacuum out any dust and debris as well as clean any perspiration spots every few uses.

On an annual basis, you want to check the sauna stones for signs of cracking as well as check the other components for damage.